Editor’s note: we are delighted to publish this article by Alex Miller, with thanks to Alex and his website, Alex’s Asteroid Astrology, an incomparable resource for asteroid-related astrology. There you’ll find in-depth astrological analyses of breaking events, as well as the astrological meanings of many mythic named asteroids.]
On Palm Sunday 2019 South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg became the first openly gay candidate for the Democratic nomination for US President, in a speech before more than 6,000 supporters. Known affectionately as “Mayor Pete”, Buttigieg had been turning heads with a $7 million haul for his campaign in the first quarter of 2019, even before making his candidacy official. Third-place showings in recent polls of Iowa and New Hampshire, as well as several attention-grabbing interviews and speeches, mark him as a potential force to be reckoned with in the Democratic Primary contests.
Grassroots support is building for the 37-year-old Buttigieg, who would be the youngest occupant of the Oval Office if elected. Articulate and well-spoken, Buttigieg is a graduate of Harvard and Oxford, a Rhodes scholar, former US Navy Reserve intelligence officer, a polyglot who speaks seven languages, and two-term mayor of a city of 100,000. He is a devout Christian able to speak authentically to voters on issues of faith and conscience, a policy- and solutions-driven candidate with fresh ideas on tackling the nation’s problems.
Buttigieg publically declared his homosexuality in 2015 during his second run for mayor, after openly criticizing Indiana’s controversial Senate Bill 1001, which legalized LGBT discrimination in the state. In June 2018 he married Chasten Glezman, a junior high school teacher whom he had been dating for two years.
Born 18 January 1982 (no time available), Buttigieg’s 29 Capricorn Sun squares Pluto at 26 Libra, suggesting a tough, solid core, someone who is comfortable with power and able to wield it effectively, with the potential to become a transformational figure. This is reinforced by Saturn at 22 Libra, also in square to the Sun, conferring executive ability, authority, responsible leadership, a serious bent, and organizational skills. There is a gravitas displayed with Saturn in square to his Sun which belies Buttigieg’s somewhat tender years, allowing him to appear more mature and experienced, a figure who can be relied upon, focused and masterful.
Buttigieg’s chart well establishes his cosmic gay street creds. At 29 Capricorn, the Sun is involved in a Kite Pattern, with trines to asteroid Eros at 22 Taurus and asteroid Antinous at 26 Virgo, opposing asteroid Ganymed at 21 Cancer. All three are potent indicators of homosexuality, with Eros the acknowledged patron of gay relationships in ancient Greece; Antinous named for the real-life lover of Emperor Hadrian who threw himself into the Nile to save his beloved; and Ganymed named for Zeus’ underage cupbearer and boytoy lover.
The fourth point representing gay energy is asteroid Sappho, named for the ancient Greek poet from Lesbos who gave her name to female homosexuals; this point appears at 3 Scorpio, in an out-of-sign square to the Sun and conjoined natal Pluto at 26 Libra. Sappho also squares Venus at 2 Aquarius and forms a T-Square with asteroid Peters, a surname variation of “Pete”, at 8 Leo, further personalizing the gay theme for Buttigieg, and linking it directly with romantic attraction, relationship and partnering issues.
Mercury at 17 Aquarius grants an ability to detach intellectually and analyze a situation dispassionately, probing for solutions which promise results tending toward the common good. Focused on equality and inclusion, this Mercury squares Jupiter broadly at 8 Scorpio, lending a loquacious quality to Buttigieg, an ability to incorporate soaring rhetoric into his speeches (as of now, he was no speechwriters, and composes his own), and a facility for foreign languages (Buttigieg speaks seven, including Norwegian, which he learned so he could read untranslated works of a favorite author). With Jupiter also squared Peters, Buttigieg has an optimistic, buoyant personality; the square to Venus suggests a high-minded, intellectual approach to ethical matters, as well as valuing education and multi-culturalism.
Mercury is trined by Mars at 13 Libra, conjoined Washingtonia at 19 Libra. Mars trine Mercury shows an energetic delivery in public speaking, as well as the ability to appear as a champion, to vocalize and advocate for a cause. Washingtonia here with Mars suggests taking the fight to the nation’s capital, perhaps prefiguring a successful presidential campaign. The trine from Washingtonia to Mercury could indicate a populist thrust to his candidacy.
Buttigieg has a second celestial ally in his quest for the Oval Office, in the form of asteroids Whitehouse and America at 6 and 7 Cancer, squared asteroid Peter at 8 Aries, giving Mayor Pete a strong personal connection to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. A T-Square with asteroid Victoria at 3 Capricorn, named for the Roman goddess of victory, may indicate a winning campaign. Whitehouse closely linked with America may help voters see him in the role of Chief Executive, with the country tightly aligned with its leadership by this combination. Whitehouse/America’s broader square to Mars could suggest a seamless fit as Commander in Chief for this veteran of a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
A pairing of asteroid Juno at 20 Sagittarius, named for the goddess of marriage, with Neptune at 25 Sagittarius suggests a partnership based in a spiritual connection, or with an educator. Buttigieg has described his union with a high school teacher as “bringing him closer to God”, aggressively taking on the most likely conservative criticism of his candidacy, his homosexuality, and refusing to cede this ground to fundamentalist Christians.
When Mayor Pete officially announced his candidacy at 3:20 PM EDT on April 14, 2019 in South Bend, Indiana, the Sun at 24 Aries squared his natal Sun at 29 Capricorn, as well as transit Saturn and Pluto at 20 and 23 Cap, with transit asteroid Troemper sandwiched between them, at 22 Cap. The transit Sun also opposes transit Ganymed at 28 Libra as well as his natal Saturn/Pluto, forming a T-Square.
This configuration focuses (transit Sun) on Buttigieg’s (natal Sun) native authority (Saturn) and power (Pluto) in bringing the fight (square) to Trump (Troemper), and the vision for the country which he espoused was one in direct contrast to the current President’s. It’s intriguing that Buttigieg was born under one forming Saturn/Pluto conjunction, and now announces his presidential bid under the next one, implying that the ensuing cycle has been one of preparing him for this moment.
The transit Sun’s opposition to Ganymed highlights Buttigieg’s sexuality, as does the exact square from transit Peters at 1 Aries to transit Sappho at 1 Cancer. Transit Antinous at 15 Cancer opposes transit Saturn, suggesting the first openly gay president, while transit Eros at 13 Leo conjoins the transit Moon at 21 Leo and squares transit Washingtonia at 14 Taurus, further linking the themes of homosexuality and public service.
With Mars at 9 Gemini conjunct Whitehouse at 5 Gemini, and both in square to transit asteroid America at 10 Virgo, it’s an apt time to initiate a presidential campaign. Mayor Pete was also given a cosmic boost by the exact opposition from transit asteroid Peter at 24 Gemini to Jupiter at 24 Sagittarius, enhancing his personal profile and conveying optimism and that indefinable quality of “luck”. Peter is also exactly conjunct transit Nemesis, that image of divine retribution and cosmic comeuppance; the fact that these conjoin Donald Trump’s natal Sun at 22 Gemini may just be a coincidence. And then again…
This basic polarity is transformed into a T-Square by a cluster in Pisces of Neptune, Venus and Mercury, at 17, 22 and 26 Pisces respectively. This describes a speech (Mercury) which is popularly received (Venus) and both inspirational and aspirational (Neptune), focused on values (Venus) and a spiritual ethos (Neptune). Mercury also conjoins transit Peters at 1 Aries, while the transit MC at 18 Taurus closely squares Buttigieg’s natal Mercury at 17 Aquarius, marking the moment as personal to him (Peters) and strongly affecting his career (MC).
In many ways, Pete Buttigieg is indeed the anti-Trump, a complete antithesis of the current President. He is youthful, trim and vigorous, where Trump is aged and obese; encouraging and aspirational, where Trump bullies and demeans; audaciously hopeful, where Trump engenders fear and malice; from humble roots in a small town Midwest environment, with Trump from a wealthy East Coast metropolitan family; a high school valedictorian, Harvard grad and Rhodes Scholar, opposed to someone who had his college transcripts sealed; a veteran with combat experience, where President Bone Spurs avoided service; he is a voracious reader, where Trump eschews his Presidential Daily Briefing for slides and charts; a polyglot, where Trump manages to daily mangle the English tongue. If Americans truly do vacillate between polar opposites in choosing presidential successors, they could hardly do better than Mayor Pete.
I must confess, I am very impressed by Pete Buttigieg, but also rather nauseated at the prospect of trying to elect a gay man as President of the United States. To be fair, I never thought we’d pick a black man either, so perhaps the country is more accepting of difference and minorities than it often appears. And then again…
[Author’s Note: On April 16 a reader approached me with a birth time for Pete Buttigieg, allegedly received from the daughter of one of her YouTube channel viewers, who had inquired of the candidate, while signing his memoir at a campaign event, what time he was born. His reply, “without hesitation,” was 7:11 AM.
Born in South Bend, a chart cast for that time on January 19, 1982, shows 12 Capricorn rising, conjoined by asteroid Truth at 13 Capricorn. This would allow Buttigieg to appear as authentic, honest and truthful to others; with Truth opposed asteroid America at 7 Cancer and Whitehouse at 6 Cancer and Whitehouse at 6 Cancer, this specifically identifies his countrymen as the audience reacting to Buttigieg’s genuineness, as he seeks the Oval Office. Note also that this places the January 5 Solar Eclipse at 15 Cap conjunct that Ascendant and Truth, which also squares Washingtonia at 19 Libra, perhaps a symbol that Buttigieg has the potential to restore integrity to the capital. The MC of this chart is 8 Scorpio, exactly conjunct natal Jupiter, a recipe for career success if ever there was one.
In the absence of official confirmation I am reluctant to endorse this time, but it yields a chart with some very intriguing possibilities.]
Alex Miller is a professional writer and astrologer, whose website AlexAsteroidAstrology.com offers a trove of info on the role of asteroids in personal and mundane astrology. He is the author of The Black Hole Book (available on Amazon.com) and The Urban Wicca, former editor of “The Galactic Calendar,” and past president of The Philadelphia Astrological Society. His pioneering work with Black Holes in astrological interpretation began in 1991, when his progressed Sun unwittingly fell into one. Alex’s books and writings are available on his website. Alex can also be reached for comment or services at .
His birthday is Jan. 19th, not the 18th.
Very interesting. thanks for writing this article. I think Mayor Pete would make an excellent president. I really don’t see his sexuality as being that big of an issue to getting elected. the people that would matter too, would never vote for a Democratic candidate anyway. Unfortunately those same anti-gay bashers would once again have a reason to freak out, similar to the Obama presidency, spreading blatant lies, fear and hate. but I guess that too would be expected no matter which Democratic candidate was to win. What is really scary is the upcoming return of Pluto in the USA horoscope. We will transform or die as a country. What do you think the era of Pluto in Aquarius will look like?